Medici Madonna (van der Weyden)
Medici Madonna | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Artist | Rogier van der Weyden |
Year | c. 1460–1464 |
Type | Oil on panel |
Dimensions | 61.7 cm × 46.1 cm (24.3 in × 18.1 in) |
Location | Städel, Frankfurt |
The Medici Madonna is an oil-on-panel painting by the Netherlandish artist Rogier van der Weyden, dating from around 1460–1464 and housed in the Städel, Frankfurt, Germany.
The work is known to have been commissioned by the Medici family in Florence, as testified by the Florentine coat of arms with a red lily at the center of the lower step. The work has been variously dated from 1450–1451, when the artist travelled to Rome visiting several Italian courts, or from 1460–1464, the same years of the Lamentation of Christ, inspired by Beato Angelico and now at the Uffizi.
Description
Within a gold ground for the sky, van der Weyden painted a baldachin lined with precious damask cloth, under which are the Virgin with Child, St. Peter, St. John the Baptist (patron saint of Florence), St. Cosmas (a protector of the House of Medici), and St. Damian. Cosmas is portrayed while putting a coin in a handbag hanging from his belt, a reference of his legend, according to which he had accepted a small sum for a medical performance, causing rage in his brother Damian.
In the foreground is a still life with the artist's typical attention to natural details. In the centre is a gilt metallic amphora, in which are several lilies: the white ones symbolize the Virgin's purity, while the red ones are another reference to Florence.
See also
Sources
- Campbell, Lorne (2004). Van der Weyden. London: Chaucer Press. ISBN 1-904449-24-7.
- Weyden, Rogier van der. "Medici Madonna". Digital Collection. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- v
- t
- e
works
- Virgin and Child Enthroned (c. 1430–1432)
- The Madonna Standing (c. 1430–1432)
- The Magdalen Reading (fragment, c. 1435–1438)
- Durán Madonna (c. 1435–1438)
- The Descent from the Cross (c. 1435–1438)
- Virgin and Child with Saints (c. 1435–1438)
- Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin (c. 1435–1440)
- Saint Hubert Altarpiece (c. late 1430s)
- Pietà (c. 1441)
- Visitation (c. 1445)
- Saint Jerome and the Lion (c. 1450–1465)
- Saint John Altarpiece (c. 1455)
- Virgin and Child (c. 1460)
- Lamentation of Christ (c. 1460–1463)
- Medici Madonna (c. 1460–1464)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Van_der_Weyden%2C_Saint_Luke_Drawing_the_Virgin%2C_Luke_detail.jpg/100px-Van_der_Weyden%2C_Saint_Luke_Drawing_the_Virgin%2C_Luke_detail.jpg)
- Portrait of a Woman (c. 1435)
- Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1440–1445)
- Portrait of Isabella of Portugal (c. 1445–1450)
- Portrait of Antoine, 'Grand Bâtard' of Burgundy (c. 1460)
- Portrait of Francesco d'Este (c. 1460)
- Portrait of a Lady (c. 1460)
- Portrait of Jean Gros (c. 1460–1464)
- Portrait of John I, Duke of Cleves
- Diptych of Jeanne of France (c. 1452–1470)
- Crucifixion Diptych (c. 1464–1465)
- Diptych of Philip de Croÿ with The Virgin and Child (c. 1460)
- Annunciation Triptych (c. 1434)
- Crucifixion Triptych (c. 1440)
- Miraflores Altarpiece (c. 1442–1445)
- Seven Sacraments Altarpiece (c. 1448)
- Bladelin Altarpiece (c. 1450)
- The Braque Triptych (c. 1452)
- Saint Columba Altarpiece (c. 1455)
- Beaune Altarpiece (c. 1445–1450)
- The Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald (c. 1450)
- A Man Reading (Saint Ivo?) (c. 1450)
- Portrait of Philip the Good (after 1450)
- Portrait of Charles the Bold (1460)